NFL star quarterback Tom Brady announced his retirement from football this week.
The 45-year-old dominated the sport for more than two decades, winning seven (!) Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
MLB hasn’t seen a player that old since Ichiro Suzuki played in 2019 and Bartolo Colon did it in 2018, both at 45 years old.
Speaking of MLB, by now you are probably familiar with the fact that Brady has a past in baseball.
He played ball at the high school level and was a very good catcher.
He had power and a good hitting tool, which was enough for the Montreal Expos to draft him in 1995.
He was selected in the 18th round, but had the talent to go in the late-second or early-third.
His preference for football drove teams away, though.
The Expos knew they were taking a chance, one that eventually didn’t pan out.
Still, Brady was selected before some players who had stable, successful MLB careers.
He was picked before All-Stars and World Series winners.
“MLB Players taken after Tom Brady (18, 507) in the 1995 MLB Draft: David Ross (19, 527), Mike Lowell (20, 562), Juan Pierre (30, 818), Aaron Rowand (40, 1,113), Brad Lidge (42, 1,167), Jerry Hairston Jr. (42, 1,172), Mark Mulder (55, 1,455), Gabe Kapler (57, 1,487),” Baseball Quotes tweeted.
MLB Players taken after Tom Brady (18, 507) in the 1995 MLB Draft:
David Ross (19, 527)
Mike Lowell (20, 562)
Juan Pierre (30, 818)
Aaron Rowand (40, 1,113)
Brad Lidge (42, 1,167)
Jerry Hairston Jr. (42, 1,172)
Mark Mulder (55, 1,455)
Gabe Kapler (57, 1,487) pic.twitter.com/JVo6QGWGVH— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) February 1, 2023
Ross and Kapler are current MLB managers; Lowell and Pierre starred for the 2023 Miami Marlins (then Florida Marlins) team that won the World Series, and Rowand and Lidge also won Fall Classics.
Brady was picked before all of them.
He was a legitimate prospect as a baseball player.
Who knows what kind of career he would have had in baseball had he stayed that course and player professionally with the Expos.
NEXT: MLB Reveals Odds For 2023 MVP Awards
